COATBRIDGE author Brian Conaghan had a memorable start to 2017 – being named as the winner of the prestigious Costa Children’s Book Award.

He said he was “shocked more than anything” on learning that he had received the accolade, adding: “It was a real pinch-yourself moment when I heard; it’s wonderful and a terrific start to the new year.”

Brian won the prize for The Bombs That Brought Us Together, his third novel, which is described as “the story of two friends, one shed, a war and a terrible choice”.

It tells the story of Little Town teenager Charlie, who then meets Pavel, a refugee from Old Country – his home area’s “sworn enemy”, and who is “the wrongest person in the whole place to choose as a friend”.

Now the Shawhead-born author is among the literary competition’s five category winners who will go forward for consideration for the overall 2016 Costa Book of the Year title, to be announced at a ceremony in London at the end of this month.

The Bombs That Brought Us Together by Coatbridge novelist Brian Conaghan

Brian told the Advertiser: “I was shocked to be on the shortlist and thought just being nominated was great in itself.

“When you start writing a book, you don’t expect to be nominated for big prizes like the Costa Award – success is having it in your hand, and you don’t think beyond that.

“To be four books down and now for there to be this award – it’s surreal to think about it in those terms.”

Judges in the children’s category – author and illustrator Cressida Cowell, writer and journalist Anna James, and Pickled Pepper Books owner Steven Pryse – said in choosing Brian’s work as the children’s award winner: “Timely yet also hilariously funny, Bombs is a necessary take on modern life in extraordinary circumstances.”

Brian, who now lives in Dublin, said: “The judges liked the humour in the book; and they thought it was important and timely because of the subject matter, feeling it was pretty current.

“I think they found it accessible, enjoyable and entertaining, and it’s always nice to laugh and to see that bit of humour in it.

“Since the announcement everyone’s been very positive and full of good wishes and congratulations; there’s been a lot of excitement from friends and family back home, and also here in Ireland, where they’ve been very supportive and kind to me.”

Brian’s novel was chosen from 119 children’s titles to win the £5000 category prize. He will now be up against the four other category winners for the overall title at the 45th annual book awards, which attracted nearly 600 entries.

Former Columba High pupil Brian was also shortlisted for last year’s Carnegie Medal, for his novel When Mr Dog Bites.

His first book, The Boy Who Made it Rain, was published in 2011. We Come Apart, a verse-novel collaboration with Carnegie Medal winner Sarah Crossan, will be published next month and his next novel, entitled The Weight Of A Thousand Feathers, is due to be published in October.

The 45-year-old had originally received more than 200 rejections before finding a publisher and agent. He became a full-time writer in 2013.

On leaving school, he worked as an apprentice painter for the council, studied at Coatbridge College before going on to gain a degree in film and theatre studies at Glasgow University.

He co-founded Vanishing Point theatre company after graduating; then went on to become a teacher, including spending five years in Italy, and gained a Master of Letters degree in creative writing.

He told the Advertiser in November: “My formative years were in Coatbridge; I was 29 when I left so it’s very much a part of my creative conscious. It’s important to me and is a great town with a lot of creative outpouring.

“All my settings tend to be Coatbridge; even though I haven’t mentioned it in the books, I have it in mind, and some of my characters are derived from people I knew when I was growing up.”